


travel first and lean towards this time

by annemari



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), American Idol RPF, Doctor Who (2005), Kris Allen (Musician)
Genre: Community: kradambigbang, Crossover, Gen, M/M, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-10
Updated: 2010-08-10
Packaged: 2017-10-11 00:53:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/106422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annemari/pseuds/annemari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kris honestly thought it was a phone booth, okay. But a phone booth wouldn't easily fit three people in it, right? It also wouldn't be bigger on the inside. A phone booth couldn't travel in space and time. This is a story of Kris Allen meeting a mad man with a blue box, going back in time, and realizing that sometimes it just takes a long time to figure out that you have always been in love with somebody.</p>
            </blockquote>





	travel first and lean towards this time

**Author's Note:**

> Eternal gratitude goes to [sbb23](http://sbb23.livejournal.com/) for being the most amazing last minute beta. (Also, she was a doll and read it even though she's not familar with Doctor Who.) Also much love to [summerstorm](http://summerstorm.livejournal.com/) for always encouraging me and telling me to writewritewrite. Title from New Order's _Ceremony_.
> 
> Check out [claire_kay](http://claire_kay.livejournal.com/)'s amazing art [here](http://claire-kay.livejournal.com/76116.html).

"Well, go ahead. Say it." The man is looking at him expectantly.

Kris glances at the room.

"Uh, it's bigger on the inside?" he offers.

"He said it!" the man exclaims, and the girl next to him rolls her eyes. "Finally! I haven't heard that in so long. I always look forward to that, you know."

Kris slowly steps closer to the middle of the — room, because what else could it really be, except it hardly looks like a room. It hardly looks like anything you could find on Earth, actually. Kris thinks about just saying sorry and darting back outside, because really, he only wanted to go on an early morning walk. It's not his fault it started raining so heavily he felt like if he couldn't get inside he would actually melt. He certainly didn't plan on finding a phone booth, that is not actually a phone booth, but more like something out of a science fiction movie. The man is still talking, though, and Kris figures it'd be rude to leave right this moment.

"I mean, last time _I_ had to say it, can you believe it?" the man says.

"No, you didn't; you only told me there was a wardrobe, a library and a swimming pool," the girl says.

The man seems to pause and then collects himself. "That I did. Must have been thinking of some other time, then."

The girl frowns, and Kris decides this might be a good time to interrupt. "Um, I'm gonna go, then?"

"No," the girl says, just as the man says, "Yes."

"What?" the girl demands, and Kris realizes that he never wants to make this person even _scowl_, not to mention get her actually mad.

"I mean... Hi, I'm the Doctor, this is Amy," the man says, stepping closer to Kris. "And you're —"

"Kris," he says.

"Well, Kris. You're in my spaceship." The man grins this crazy, completely mad grin, and Kris raises his eyebrows.

"Spaceship?" he echoes.

"Time and relative dimension in space, TARDIS," the man — the Doctor — says, like he's said it a million times before, but still loves hearing it out loud. "It travels in space. And time. It's quite brilliant, actually."

Kris looks around the room, takes in the fact that, really, _bigger on the inside_. He also notes the technology in the middle of the room, on the desk that can only be described as a console. Well, it definitely _looks_ like a spaceship. Kris has to give them that. "Right," he says, slowly. "It... definitely sounds, um. Brilliant."

"But you're right," the Doctor says. "We're off now, so you'd better be going, too. Sorry."

"Oh, Doctor, but we could take him with us," Amy says, and steps down the stairs that lead to the console, gets right into Kris's personal space.

Kris is about to open his mouth to protest, because they can't just _take_ him, it'd be polite to at least ask, but before he gets the chance, the Doctor asks, "Really?"

Amy nods, a smirk on her face. The Doctor frowns. "He's a bit short, isn't he?"

"Hey," Kris says, just as Amy says, "_Doctor_."

"It'd just be _fun_ to show Kris around, let him see the Universe a bit, wouldn't it?" Amy continues, walking back up the stairs and slinking closer to the Doctor. "How about Saturn, for starters?"

"Saturn," the Doctor scoffs, and leans against the console, crossing his arms.

"Because, see," Amy says, "I don't think he believes us. And what better way to prove ourselves than to go see Saturn." She seems absolutely delighted with the idea. The whole room — the _TARDIS_ — is shaking now, and Kris barely manages to keep his balance, grabbing hold of one of the rails nearby.

"We might as well take him to the Moon, then," the Doctor says, pulling levers and punching buttons on the console at the same time.

"Yes, but _I_ want to see Saturn. Two birds, one very big stone. With rings around it."

"Saturn is made of _gas_, did they teach you nothing in school?"

"It's a _metaphor_," says Amy.

"It's _wrong_," the Doctor insists.

"Um," Kris says. "I'd, uh, love to see Saturn?" He figures, what the heck, he might as well play along. It's not everyday you meet people who want to convince you that you're in a spaceship.

Amy throws the Doctor a triumphant smile, and pulls a lever.

"Wait," the Doctor shouts, but then the whole place stutters to a stop.

"Landed her," Amy says, clearly happy with herself.

"But I like it when it makes the _noise_," the Doctor says, forlorn. "And Kris didn't get to hear it!"

"_Oh_, he'll hear it next time," Amy says, and grabs Kris's hand, pulling him toward the doors.

She stops right in front of them, throws him another smile, and pulls them open. Kris just stares.

Out there, beyond the doors of the blue box, which is supposedly a spaceship that travels in time, is a planet. And it's almost definitely Saturn. It's absolutely ginormous, and it seems like the rings around it actually glisten and _sparkle_. At first Kris can't believe it. He steps a little closer to the doors, holds on to the door frame, and looks down. Into nothingness, or, well. Space. He can feel a soft breeze. After that, he's more inclined to accept the fact that he actually _is_ in space. And, well, the Doctor and Amy really don't have any reason to lie, the way he sees it, and now he's face to face with actual proof. In the form of Saturn. His next thought, as he's looking at the planet right in front of them, is that Adam would love this.

It catches him a little off-guard. He hasn't seen Adam in ages, and it's been weeks since they've had any contact. They're just both so busy, Adam insanely so, neither have found the time. Kris _really_ misses him, more than he thought he would, still, considering that their lives have been so hectic for pretty much the past four years. The last time Kris can remember them actually spending more than a few hours together was a couple of months after the divorce. Adam had been right in the middle of his second European tour. He'd texted Kris constantly at first, and sometimes called. Kris knew he'd felt bad about not actually being there, but it's not like Kris was all alone. In fact, he'd felt like he could use a bit more time to himself, and had rented a small house on the beach up on the coast.__

After two weeks, Adam had been at his door, saying he only had a couple of days, and pulling him into a brief hug.

They really talked, then, about everything that had happened in their lives. Kris had finally explained that the divorce was a mutual decision and they'd both seen it coming for a long time, ever since the Idol Tour back in 2009, but it still hurt. Adam had hugged him, _really_ hugged him, and Kris had felt some barrier inside him breaking.

Then he'd insisted on hearing about Adam, and even though Adam had protested, saying this trip wasn't about him, they were soon discussing his latest album in depth (almost all of it written or co-written by Adam), the tour, and the guys Adam had dated.

"No one right now," Adam had said cheerily, but Kris could still hear the note of sadness in it. He'd snuggled closer to Adam on the couch, and laid his head on Adam's shoulder, trying to offer some comfort.

The thing with Tommy had been like an explosion and Adam had been so scared he'd lose him after it ended. But Tommy was still in the band, and they were still close friends, because that's how amazing and determined Adam was to keep his friendships, and Kris knew Tommy would never hurt Adam by refusing to stay friends with him. It just wasn't Tommy.

Nothing with anyone else he'd met after becoming famous had really lasted very long, and Adam had sprawled out on the couch and confessed that sometimes he was sick and tired of trying. Kris had rubbed his knee and told him it'd happen one day, like he always had.

Adam had looked at him sadly and said, "You'll be okay."

Kris had felt a little choked up, but had smiled, and shot it right back at him.

Adam had stayed for two days, mostly just hanging out on the couch with Kris, reading, singing when Kris played guitar. Kris knew he was probably bored here, and he felt bad about it, but at the same time, he was so glad to see Adam again, he felt happier than he had in months.

So Adam had left when his schedule demanded it, telling Kris to call whenever, if he needed anything or just if he felt like talking, and Kris had not clung to him, as much as he wanted to. There'd been something in Adam's eyes, something Kris could almost grasp, but it had disappeared before he could make sense of it.

After that, Adam had been busier than ever, and it'd been months and months till they saw each other again. They'd exchanged texts, and Kris had thought about calling every day, but hadn't, not even sure why.

The last time they met was at a corporate event during Adam's third tour in North-America and a week before Kris left for London.

Adam had smiled and hugged him, but something had been a little off. Kris could see it in the sad lines around his mouth. Right before Adam had left, he'd sighed and said it felt like they'd been drifting apart. He'd sounded sad and resigned, and Kris hadn't known what to say, and he couldn't even look Adam in the eye. He had no explanation for not calling and for not texting, and he knew he couldn't make that better. A small part of his brain piped up and said that this was a two-way deal, and Adam could have been the one to call, but he just _knew_, he knew this had been his fault.

"Is it —," Adam had said. "You knew I wanted to be there, but I just —"

"No," Kris had interrupted him, finally looking up, because that wasn't it at all, he hadn't even thought about the divorce when it came to this. This was something else entirely, and it was completely not Adam's fault. "You were there, and this was — it's my fault." Adam had looked _understanding_ and kind, and that just killed Kris, and he didn't know why. "I just — I don't..."

Adam had pulled him close and kissed his forehead, whispered, "It's okay."

And then he'd had to leave, and Kris had gone home and to London and hadn't talked to Adam since.

Kris feels his eyes prickling when he thinks back to that, because they had drifted apart, and he'd done nothing to stop it, and sometimes he missed Adam so much he couldn't breathe.

He was fairly certain that wasn't a normal reaction to have when it came to a friend, however close, but nothing connected to Adam was normal anyway, and Kris had always liked that. So he accepted it and didn't dwell on it. Mostly.

"Hey, Kris," Amy says, nudging his shoulder. "You still in there?"

"I — Yeah," Kris says, and takes a deep breath. "Wow."

"Yeah," Amy says, thoughtfully. "It's — nice."

"Ha," comes the Doctor's voice from behind them.

"What, I'm still glad I _saw_ it," Amy insists, and runs back to the console.

"Saturn," the Doctor scoffs again. "Well, Kris, where to now?"

Kris shivers and closes the doors of the — okay, spaceship it is — and turns around.

"I'm not sure," he says, and takes a few steps up the stairs. Amy's twirling around the console, and the Doctor is watching her, a soft smile on his lips. "Um, you said it traveled in time?"

"Yes," the Doctor exclaims, and focuses his eyes on Kris. "Oh, how about something fun." He pushes a couple of buttons, too fast for Kris to follow. "You know, Kris, you look like the sort of guy who likes music. How about it?"

"How about what?" Kris asks.

The Doctor pulls a lever and the TARDIS wobbles a little and comes to a stop.

"Ah, here we are," the Doctor says, and Amy whoops and pulls Kris towards the doors again.

"Where is here?" Kris asks her.

"See for yourself," she answers, and pushes him to stand right in front of the doors. "Go on."

Kris swallows and pulls the doors open.

Wherever they are, it's pretty dark outside, and he can't see anything clearly.

"Let's go," Amy says, and pushes him out of the TARDIS. He stumbles, but manages not to fall. As he looks around, he realizes he's standing on the roof of a building. The question is what building and what city and in what _year_. Kris feels excitement build up inside him, especially when Amy stops next to him and grins, clearly happy to be here, with this crazy man in a _box_, traveling all over the, well, Universe.

"So, Doctor," Amy says, and Kris turns his head to see the Doctor has joined them. "Where are we?"

"Uh," the Doctor says. "Not quite sure."

Amy raises her eyebrows in the form of a question, and Kris wonders exactly how bad the situation is when the driver doesn't know where he brought his passengers, especially when the vehicle is a spaceship.

"I planned on taking us to see a concert. I was thinking, maybe the Beatles, in 1965? But this does not look like 1965."

"Does that happen often?" Kris asks.

"No," the Doctor says, just as Amy says, "Yes."

"Well," the Doctor starts.

Amy cuts him off with, "_Fourteen years_."

Kris is pretty sure he doesn't want to know. "So, how do we find out where we are?" he asks. "Ask someone?"

"Nah," the Doctor says. "I'll go check the TARDIS readings, she'll probably know."

"Probably?" Kris asks, right when Amy says, "We're never gonna get to Rio, are we."

"Now, easy," the Doctor says. "I'll be right back, don't you get into trouble." He heads back into the TARDIS, quietly muttering to himself.

Amy waits till he's disappeared inside, then grabs Kris's hand. "Come on."

"Wait, really?" Kris says. "Are you sure?"

"Come on, Kris, live a little," she says, and grins at him. She lets go of his hand and heads off, toward the door that leads down from the roof. Kris thinks for a moment and then follows her. Even though he really doesn't want to piss off the guy with the _spaceship_, he can't help but feel a little adventurous. He catches up to her at the door.

"Is it locked?" he asks.

She's blocking the door from his view and then there's a soft sound of a lock opening.

"Not anymore," she says, and pushes the door open. Kris follows her inside, because for some crazy reason, he finds her trustworthy, even though she can pick locks. Perhaps it's because of that.

"Won't the Doctor be mad?" he asks as they're going down the stairs, heading who knows where.

"Eh," Amy says. "He'll be fine. We're just exploring! He didn't say we couldn't _explore_."

Kris has to give her that, the girl knows her loopholes. He wonders how she ended up with the Doctor, wonders if she's traveling with him because there's nothing waiting for her at home, or if she's traveling just for the sake of traveling. He decides to ask her later, maybe, and then they come to a stop in a hallway.

There are doors on both sides, and it looks vaguely ominous, but then one of the doors opens and a person in an extravagant costume steps out and heads down the hall. Kris at least hopes it's a person. He can hear the commotion around them, coming from the various rooms.

"Let's check it out," Amy says, and heads right toward the door that was just opened.

"Can we just walk in like that?" Kris asks, and Amy pulls something from her pocket, lifts it for Kris to see. From the side it looks like just a blank card.

"Sure we can," Amy says. "_We_ have psychic paper."

She quickly steps through the door and Kris trails in after her. No one seems to be paying any attention to them, though, and Kris thinks they might actually get away with this _without_ using anything psychic.

The room is full of people, all of them wearing costumes. Kris figures it's a theatre dressing-room. Amy stands near the doors and nods appreciatively before walking into the crowd. She's stopped by a woman wearing a giant green dress.

"Can I help you?" she asks.

"Oh, yes," Amy says, and pulls out the _blank_ card (seriously, what). "We're from the, um, costume department, and we're just making sure everything's all right. With the costumes."

"That's an empty piece of paper," the woman points out, and Kris feels validated.

Amy stares at it in confusion. "Huh. Well, would you look at that, I have no idea how that happened."

"Look," the woman says. "You look harmless enough, just don't get in our way, alright?"

"Harmless?" Amy's eyebrows shoot up. "I'll —"

"Thank you," Kris says, stepping in, placing a hand on Amy's shoulder. "We'll just be over _there_."

"Wait, wait," Amy says. "Where exactly, um, are we? Like, what city? I keep forgetting, I have such a bad memory." She laughs, lightly.

"We're in Chicago," the woman says, looking at both of them as if they're slow, and turns to go.

"Hi, sorry, one more thing," Amy says, and the woman looks back at her. "What year is this?"

The woman doesn't even raise her eyebrows. "It's 2005," she says, and walks off.

"2005," Amy repeats. "Huh."

"That's, like, eight years in my past," Kris says, shocked.

"Oh," Amy says, distractedly. "Hey, what's that?"

And then she's gone, into the crowd. Kris thinks about following her, but he figures she'll come back eventually, to find him. Or at least the Doctor will, or something. He really wants to just stand still for a moment and take in the fact that he's just _traveled in time_.

Suddenly, there's a hand on his shoulder and someone's saying, "Sorry, sorry, coming through."

Kris turns and realizes that he's standing right in the middle of the room, getting in the way of people.

He steps aside — or rather, is gently shoved aside — to let the person through, looks up to mutter an apology, and what do you know, it's Adam. He flashes Kris a smile and says, "No problem."

Kris's brain short-circuits.

Once it kicks in again, Adam has already moved across the room and disappeared into the crowd.

Kris doesn't know how long he just stands there, willing himself not to have a complete meltdown. He just met Adam. He met Adam, and it's 2005, and he's pretty sure something like that is _not okay_.

He's brought out of his stupor by Amy appearing by his side.

"Hi," she says, cheery. "I think we might actually see a musical today! I haven't been to the theatre in ages, isn't it exciting?"

Kris just gapes at her, trying to make her understand what's wrong without actually having to say it.

"What?" she asks, confused. "What's wrong?"

Kris swallows. "I just met someone I know."

"Oh," Amy says. "Well, that's nice?"

"No, I met him, but I haven't actually met him yet."

She furrows her brow and looks at him like he's crazy. He feels wounded by that, because, hello, he's not the one traveling in time with a _box_, and some weird guy.

"I met him, but we actually haven't met, yet," he tries to explain, again.

"You just pretty much repeated yourself," she points out. "This is not exactly getting us anywhere."

He sighs and tries to stay calm.

"Come on, Kris," she coaxes. "Just spit it out."

"The first time we met was in 2008. Not in 2005. So, like. I'm pretty sure this just screwed everything up, right?"

"Did he recognize you?" Amy asks.

"He hasn't met me yet!"

"_Oh_," Amy says. "Right. Well, he probably — Oh, okay, so, he probably won't remember you once he meets you again? Yeah, that works, right."

Kris feels himself start to hyperventilate. "But what if he —"

"Look, you can ask the Doctor, but I doubt this will change anything," Amy says, and pats him on the shoulder.

"The Doctor's dealt with this sort of stuff before?" Kris asks, hopeful.

"Well, he's over 900 years old," Amy says, shrugging. "I figure he's dealt with a lot of stuff."

Oh, well. Of course, the Doctor's an alien, he must be. Kris thinks he sort of already knew, because, really, _spaceship_, but it's nice to get some sort of confirmation. That really doesn't fix his problem though.

"But —" he starts again.

"Are you sure he didn't say something, like, nice to meet you again when you met him for the first time?" Amy asks.

"Yes," Kris says, slowly. "I'm pretty sure of that."

"So," Amy says. "I take it that he didn't remember you. From now."

"I thought I told you not to go anywhere," the Doctor says, popping up next to Amy.

"No, you told us not to get into _trouble_," Amy says calmingly. "Which we didn't. Well, Kris met someone he hasn't met before, but, really, no trouble."

Kris leans against the wall, and tries to calm his breathing.

"Did you steal my psychic paper?" the Doctor asks Amy, turning out his pockets.

"I _borrowed_ it," Amy says. "Here, you can have it back, it doesn't work anyway." She hands it back to him and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Right," the Doctor says, and sticks it in his jacket pocket. "What's wrong with Kris?"

Amy shrugs. "He met someone he wasn't supposed to meet yet. But I don't think they even recognized him."

"He _can't_ recognize me —" Kris starts.

"Right, right," Amy says, "I mean, he won't recognize you in the future. He totally won't."

The Doctor nods. "Amy's right, yes, trust Amy. _But_ we have more important matters right now."

"We found out where we are," Amy interrupts him. "And when, too."

"Chicago in 2005, yeah," the Doctor says.

"Yes," Amy grumbles.

"Good work," says the Doctor. "Excellent. _But_. There is a disturbance in the basement."

"A disturbance?" Amy asks, amused. "In the basement?"

"Yes, okay, there's a disturbance in the basement," the Doctor says, snippily. Amy just raises her eyebrows. "And _we_ should check it out," the Doctor finishes.

"Yeah, let's go," Kris says, suddenly, grabbing hold of the opportunity. Then maybe they won't run into Adam again.

"All right then," the Doctor says. "Amy, Rory, let's go."

He takes off with Amy in tow, and Kris hurries to catch up to them, wondering who the hell is Rory. The Doctor and Amy break into a run, like the basement will not be there if they're a little slower, or something. Though, actually, the Doctor didn't say what kind of a disturbance it was, so maybe it's entirely possible that the basement will cease to exist at some point.

"So, what's the problem," he pants out as he catches up with the Doctor.

"I don't know, yet," the Doctor says.

They run down too many stairs for Kris to count, and, finally, end up in front of a door that, helpfully, says "basement".

"Well, that's convenient," Amy remarks. "And a bit redundant." The Doctor pulls something from his pocket and points it at the door. There's a buzzing sound, and the door pops open.

They sneak through the door, quiet. Kris feels on edge, as if someone or something will pop out of the dark and scream "boo". It's quiet in the basement, though. It almost seems _too_ quiet. The Doctor stops at another door that says "Do Not Enter".

"Oh, delightful," says the Doctor. "I love doors like these, don't you, Amy?" He repeats whatever he did with first door, and pushes it open.

"Whoa," Kris says, impressed. The small room is filled with equipment, and two people are working behind the machines. Two _green_ people.

"Hello," the Doctor says, and raises his hands in front of him, in a welcoming gesture. Kris expects the people to turn around fast, shocked, but instead they seem to swivel more than actually turn on their feet. Their faces look — alien.

Green skin, blue hair; their eyes are yellow, but they quickly take on a form more closely resembling human.

"Greetings," the shorter of the two says.

"Aliens speak English?" Kris whispers to Amy.

"It's the TARDIS," she whispers back. "It translates."

"What, it translates long-distance?"

"It's a spaceship that travels in time," the Doctor interrupts. "Give her some credit — Oh."

The aliens have moved closer to them, un-noticed.

"Lovely day we're having, right," the Doctor says. "Here on Earth. Are you enjoying it?"

Kris decides that the Doctor is pretty clearly mad. Or at least just a little crazy.

"What business do you have here?" the one closer to them asks. Kris thinks they both look male, but, well, they're aliens. Who knows if that even matters to them, if there's a distinction in their species, or whatever.

"Oh, I think we should be asking _you_ that," the Doctor says, and bounces on the tips of his toes.

"We are merely getting acquainted with your culture," the other one says.

"In a basement," Amy says, pointedly.

"Oh, we all know that's a lie," the Doctor says.

"Well, it is none of your business," the taller one says.

"But, see, my spaceship picked up a disturbance signal coming from the basement, which clearly _makes_ it my business. Now, what do we have here," the Doctor says, and steps closer to the equipment covering the walls. "Basic power station to stay in contact with your ship, and to also use for teleportation. But _why_ are you here?"

"We are looking for one of our kind who is lost," the shorter one says.

"August," the taller one says, and August raises his hand to quiet him.

"I am August and this is Alex. We have lost one of our kind and we're here to get them back."

"And what exactly is your kind," the Doctor asks.

"That is no concern of yours, time lord," Alex sneers, baring his teeth.

"_Oh_," the Doctor says. "The people from Avalon, of course. I should have known right away." He turns to Amy and Kris. "Great species. Very proud, very eager to succeed, they are."

"Maybe you can... help us," August says, slowly.

"They want our _help_?" Amy whispers to the Doctor.

"Help how?" the Doctor inquiries.

There's a screen on the wall, and when August steps closer to it and quickly presses a few buttons underneath it, a picture appears on it. A picture of Adam.

"_What_," Kris says, shocked.

In the picture, Adam is covered in green body-paint with hair that's dyed blue. Kris has seen this picture countless times before, has laughed about it with Adam, how there had been paint everywhere. He certainly... _looks_ alien in it. But he's not. He's _Adam_.

"Kris?" the Doctor asks, throwing him a quick glance.

"That's — That's my _friend_," Kris says, incredulous. "He's not an alien, he's human!"

"Are you calling us liars?" Alex says, stepping closer.

"No, I just — He's _not_ an alien, you have to believe me." He looks at Amy, willing her to understand. "That's my friend, the one I — I told you about?" He hopes Amy gets it without him having to spell out that he ran into Adam here. Amy's eyes widen, and she nods.

"Now, how can you be sure he's one of your kind," the Doctor asks, stepping closer to the screen.

August stares at him as if he's slow. "He looks like us. We tracked him down here, using this picture, he _is_ from our planet."

"No, but that's just —" Kris starts, but the Doctor throws him a look.

"And you located him," he asks the aliens. _Holy crap, they're actually aliens_, Kris realizes with a jolt. And they want Adam, _his_ Adam. Except Adam doesn't belong to anyone, but as far as aliens are concerned, Kris is totally willing to think of Adam as his; no aliens are getting their hands on him.

"We have had some trouble with that," August admits. "We tracked the signal, but then lost it. This is why we need your help."

Suddenly Alex steps closer to Kris. "He has seen him, he will take us _to_ him."

Kris blanches. "No, I —"

"Hey, now," Amy says, and steps in front of him. "You better back off there. No one is taking anyone anywhere until the Doctor says so. Right, Doctor?" She throws a triumphant look at the Doctor, and Kris sees how the Doctor's eyes warm up when he looks at her.

"Exactly," he says. "Now, we are more than willing to help you find your kind. However, even though this _is_ a theatre, I'm sure you realize it'd be better if you stayed here. So as not to attract attention, of course." He locks eyes with August and he nods in response. "We'll return shortly," the Doctor says, and pulls Amy and Kris back out.

The door has hardly closed after them when they're already running.

***

"He's _not_ an alien," Kris says once they're back in the upstairs hallway. "You believe me, right?"

"Yes, yes," the Doctor says, waving his hands. "Granted, that's some pretty good body-paint, but I can tell the difference, thank you very much."

"What, so why can't they?" Amy asks. A group of people passes by and they press themselves against a wall.

"Maybe they just don't want to see it," the Doctor says, after the people have left, and starts pacing. "Maybe the grief of losing one of their own is so strong. Or maybe it's something else."

"So what do we do?" Kris asks. "You have — You have a plan, right?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor says. "Well, it's a thing. Sort of like a plan."

"Doctor," Amy says, insistent. "What's the plan?"

"Well," the Doctor says. "We go find this person —" He looks at Kris, questioning.

"Adam," Kris supplies.

"We find Adam and prove to them that he's not an alien."

"How do we do that?" Kris asks.

"What, and that's it," says Amy.

"Yes," the Doctor says, and starts heading down the hallway.

"Wait," Kris shouts. "No, he can't — He can't meet me, okay?"

"Why not?" the Doctor asks, not stopping.

"Because he's my _friend_, and the first time we met was in 2008, not in 2005. I can't — I can't risk this friendship, okay?"

"What are you risking?" the Doctor asks, confused, finally stopping.

"Amy," Kris turns to her, desperate. "Tell him."

Amy sighs. "He thinks this will completely change their relationship," she explains. Kris thinks she should at least put some weight into the sentence.

"Everything _will_ change," he insists. "It will mess everything up! Now, when we meet in 2008, he'll have already met me, and — And I don't know what happens then, and I just. I won't risk it."

The Doctor steps closer to him, puts both hands on Kris's shoulders.

"Now, Kris," he says. "If we don't go and find your friend then _they_ will. And you _really_ don't want that to happen, now do you?"

"Well, no, but —"

"Great, then it's settled," the Doctor says, and lightly punches him in the chest.

"Doctor!" Kris shouts, but he's already slipped through the door of the dressing room, gone.

"Look, Kris," Amy says. "Time just — It's messy, but just 'cause you meet Adam now, it doesn't mean that all those — Everything you shared is not going anywhere, okay. It doesn't work like that."

"Are you sure?" Kris asks, pleading.

"Completely," she says, breezily, and follows the Doctor. Kris takes a deep breath and goes after her, hoping she's right.

Inside, the Doctor's already questioning people, asking them if they've seen Adam. It seems like the performance has just ended; there's cheering and clapping, and Kris wants to just soak in the feeling that always seems to fill the air after a good show well done, but his heart's still going a mile a minute, and he can't stand still. He grabs the Doctor's elbow, forcing him to stop jumping around.

"But we're not gonna tell him that I know him and that we're from the future, right?"

"Maybe he'll believe us more if we do," Amy points out, and the Doctor looks at him, his eyebrows raised.

"No, see, he can't know I know him and if he knows we're from the future then he'll want to know what happens in it, even though he really _doesn't_, and he'll ask, and I'll have to tell some lie, because I can't tell him the truth, and and I am _really_ bad at lying to him, and then he'll just keep wondering, even though he doesn't want to, and I don't want to do that to him." Kris takes a deep breath, and finishes his plea. "So he can't know."

The Doctor and Amy exchange glances and nod quickly, and Kris thinks that's probably as good a promise as he's going to get.

"Okay," he says, sighing. He looks around the room. "Oh."

Adam has just appeared from behind a group of people, already out of his costume; smiling.

"Oh," Kris says, again.

"That's him?" Amy asks, near his ear, almost making Kris jump out of his skin. He can only nod.

"Great," the Doctor exclaims. "I think you should tell him."

"Wait, tell him _what_?" Kris asks, anxiety rising in his chest. But the Doctor is already stepping forward, and then his hand is on Adam's shoulder, and he's all up in his personal space, and Kris squeezes his eyes shut, because everything is about to end.

After a second, he opens them, and the world is still there. He thinks he can't remember the last time he's felt like being this dramatic. The Doctor and Amy are standing over by the mirrors, with Adam. Kris takes a deep breath and joins them.

"Doesn't he look familiar, Amy?" the Doctor asks, tilting his head, and leaning closer to Adam at the same time.

Adam looks a bit uncertain, but doesn't lean away, just smiles.

"Maybe I have one of those faces?" he offers, and Kris almost laughs at that, because Adam isn't and has never been someone you could forget or confuse with someone else.

"No, no," the Doctor says, and takes Adam's face in his hands, tilts it up and down and sideways, and Kris feels a bit jealous, because he can't remember the last time he's had the chance to even hug Adam.

"Okaaaaay," Adam says slowly, and gently lifts the Doctor's hands away from his face.

"Ah, I'll get it in a minute," the Doctor says, takes a step back and just stares. Amy clears her throat. "Oh, right. Let's get down to business, shall we. I think — Kris here should explain."

Then Adam's eyes land on him, and Kris almost forgets to breathe. Physically impossible, of course, but that's just... exactly what it feels like.

"Hi," he says, awkward and nervous. "Um, I'm Kris."

"Adam," says Adam, and smiles. "Were you guys here for the show? Did you like it?"

"Um," Kris says.

"We loved it," Amy assures him.

"We didn't see it," the Doctor says, confused.

"But I'm sure it was great," Kris says, quickly.

Adam stares at the three of them.

"Right," the Doctor says, slowly. "Kris, explanation, chop-chop."

"Um," Kris starts again. "Wait, can't we do this somewhere more... private?"

"Why?" Adam asks, and his eyebrows rise up. His eyes are cheerful, though, like even though he's confused, he's enjoying it. Kris is afraid to look into them for too long.

Some people pass them by at that point, all of them stopping to clap Adam on the shoulder, congratulating him on a good show. Kris wonders if this time Adam got to play the part of Fiyero. Adam beams at them and thanks them all. He's so very _Adam_, Kris finds himself surprised, even though he probably shouldn't be. Sure, time changes people, but Adam from 2013 or Adam from 2005 is still Adam. The kind, grateful, friendly Adam, the guy Kris feels like he's known for ages.

"It's a bit crowded here," he says, when Adam's attention is back on them.

"Yeah, well, less of a chance of me getting kidnapped," Adam says, and the sides of his eyes crinkle.

Kris laughs, because he just can't help himself. Amy and the Doctor chuckle nervously, and Kris sticks his hand in his pockets, looks up at Adam.

"It'll just be easier to explain that way. Please?"

Adam bites his lip, unsure.

"Just —" Kris starts.

"Look," Adam says. "No one really is really into eavesdropping. Well, they are, but they hardly ever tell. And I'm sorry, but I really don't think that what you have to tell me is that mysterious or groundbreaking."

"Aliens are real," Kris blurts out, because, well. He's always up to a challenge.

Adam bursts out laughing. "Okay, that's pretty groundbreaking," he admits. "Funny."

"Adam," Kris says, willing him to be serious. "It's true, and. You're in danger."

"Way to be dramatic, Kris," Amy says, and the Doctor snickers.

Kris glances around the room, it's a lot emptier than it was before. "Adam, please, you have to believe me."

"Why?" Adam asks, confused.

"Because," Kris says, frustrated that he can't really explain this. "They're real and they're convinced you're one of them."

Adam just stares at him, and Kris presses his palm to his forehead.

"Look, I know it sounds crazy, but, really, why would I — Why would _we_ lie to you?"

"Um, because _you're_ crazy?" Adam offers.

"That doesn't mean we're not telling the truth, though," Amy interjects.

Kris groans and buries his head in his hands.

"Yeah, it's still best when I do this part," the Doctor says, and takes over. He quickly explains the basics of it to Adam, with big words, and some words that sound made up, and all the while, Kris just concentrates on breathing. He has to make Adam believe him, he _has_ to. When he looks up again, Adam seems just as confused as before.

Only, there's something there, in his eyes. Doubt, but not doubt about what they're saying. He's thinking about it, considering it, Kris can tell.

"Look, we'll just drop by the basement, show them you're actually human —" the Doctor says.

"_Basement_?" Adam asks, incredulous. "You expect me to come down to the _basement_ with you."

"Please, Adam," Kris says, and takes a step closer. He raises his hand, hesitant, then grabs Adam's in his. "Please, you have to believe me, _please_. We just want to help you, we can't let them take you, okay? We're telling the truth."

Something in Adam's eyes softens at that, but he doesn't give in that easily.

"Is this some sort of game?" he asks. "Or a trick? Or, oh, a dare? Really, why are you guys here?"

"Well," Amy says. "If I had my way, we would be in Rio right now, but lucky for you, we ended up here and we're trying to convince a bunch of aliens that you're not one of them. Good times, as always."

Adam furrows his brows and looks at Kris. Kris shrugs in response.

"I don't know what's with her and Rio, man," he says, and tries for a smile.

Adam takes a step back and throws them all a considering look. "Okay," he says.

"Okay?" Kris asks, hopeful.

"Okay, but only because you look like you really have no reason to lie."

Kris raises his eyebrow in confusement.

"I would have come with you if you'd just _asked_," Adam explains. "And you guys must know that, so there's really no need to think of some elaborate story."

"What?" Kris asks, when the Doctor grabs Adam's hand and pulls him with him.

"I think he means we're pretty," Amy says, cheerily.

"Or maybe we just look trustworthy?" Kris offers.

"Nah," Amy says, and tugs him with her. "We're pretty."

***

The Doctor uses the same buzzing thing as before to get the basement door open.

"Oh, what's that?" Adam asks.

"Sonic screwdriver," the Doctor says, and grins at him. "Very helpful, very... flexible." Kris rolls his eyes.

"Can we focus?" he asks. He doesn't think of himself as jealous, but, well. First time for everything. It's totally unfair that Adam's interacting more with the Doctor than him, even though it's only because the Doctor is the one with all the answers and the nifty toys.

"Now, Kris, jealousy is not pretty," Amy whispers in his ear, cheery, as they walk through the doors. Kris is about to protest, but he remembers what's behind the door right in front of them. Aliens, people, whatever, the main thing is that they want _Adam_, and they probably want to hurt him, and Kris can stop acting like a jealous boyfriend for five minutes, because this is important. This is something they can't screw up.

He inches closer to Adam, contemplates taking his hand.

The door swings open, and the Doctor is the first to enter, screwdriver raised in front of him.

"Whoa," Adam says as he follows him in.

"Yeah," Kris agrees, because, really, it looks totally magnificent, this little room, covered in _alien_ technology.

"Brother," Alex says, and hastily steps closer. Adam grabs Kris's hand, and freezes to the spot.

"Wait, now," the Doctor says. "Look carefully, is he _really_ one of you?"

The contrast between Adam's skin and Alex's is drastic; they look nothing alike. August places his hand on Alex's shoulder.

"It seems we've made a mistake," he says, regret in his voice.

"Yes," Alex adds, monotonely. "It seems we have."

The picture of Adam covered in green paint hangs on the screen behind them.

"Wait," Adam says, and steps closer it, letting go of Kris's hand. "This is me, but — I've never. I don't remember ever looking like this."

"How could you forget," Amy says, amused.

"No," Adam says. "I mean —"

"It hasn't happened yet?" Kris offers. He feels a bit out of his league, but he still addresses Alex and August. "Do you know what year you got this picture from?"

"Does it matter?" Alex asks.

"No, I mean," Kris says. "That would just... explain it. It probably hasn't happened yet." Adam turns to look at him, confused. Kris shrugs, mouths, "Aliens."

"Well," the Doctor says, and claps his hands. "Really, feel free to make sure of it yourself, _he_ is certainly human. I don't recommend trying any of those scanner things, though, I've heard they can be pretty unstable far away from the main ship."

"What?" Kris exclaims, but August interrupts him.

"That won't be necessary," he says. "We have obviously been blinded by the grief of losing one of ours, we are deeply sorry."

"That's what I said, right," the Doctor says to Amy. "Didn't I say that?"

"Yes, yes," Amy assures him. "You were right."

"We shall leave now," August says, "And continue the search somewhere else. Maybe in another galaxy."

"Good luck?" Kris offers, unsure of what to say.

"What about this room, the technology here," the Doctor asks.

"We'll take care of it as soon as we've informed our people of this setback," Alex says. He sounds honest enough, but the Doctor raises his eyebrows at August, as if to get a second opinion.

August merely nods, and places a hand on Alex's shoulder. They're gone in a flash of light.

"Well," the Doctor says, and claps his hands together. "I think that went well, don't you?"

Amy beams and Kris finds himself smiling as well. The aliens are gone and Adam is safe. Even though their timeline got totally, completely screwed up, he's _safe_ and that's all that matters.

"We should be going now, though, right, Doctor?" Amy says.

Adam looks, well, a bit shocked, and Kris finds himself slowly inching closer to him. "Aliens," Adam says, slowly.

"Yup," the Doctor says, and grins. "Aliens. You know, if you want to get to know more _about_ aliens, then —"

"_Doctor_," Amy says. "Kris will take care of it."

"He will?" the Doctor asks, sounding a bit disappointed.

"Bye," Amy says, and throws herself at Adam, hugs him close.

"Um, bye," Adam says, hugging her back.

"Oh, do I get a hug?" the Doctor asks, and Adam laughs. Amy throws the Doctor a _look_, and drags him out of the basement.

"Um," Kris says, once they're alone. "We should probably get out of here, too."

"Oh," says Adam, and looks around the place, like he's only just now remembering where they are. "Right, yeah. Let's go."

They make their way upstairs, and the silence is bordering on awkward, when finally, Adam laughs. They stop in a hallway, and Adam leans against the wall and just laughs.

"I'm sorry," he says, gulping in air. "It's just." He dissolves into giggles and Kris steps closer, places a hand on his shoulder. He thinks maybe he should be freaking out, too, but he figures got his fair share after he ran into Adam, so he feels mostly balanced right now.

"It's okay," he says. "It's fine. You're fine, right? You're okay." Adam nods, and turns his body slightly toward Kris. "Maybe we should sit down."

Adam's nods again, and then he pushes himself off the wall and tugs Kris into a room. He flicks on the light, and Kris's eyes land on the couch closest to them. He makes a beeline for it, because it feels like he's been on his feet _forever_.

Adam hums, approving, as he sits down next to Kris.

"Is this the best room here, or what?" Kris asks, and leans his head against the back of the couch.

"It's where people come to warm up their voices," Adam says, and Kris nods to himself.

"Yeah, that's what I figured."

"Did you now?" Adam says, throwing a contemplative glance at Kris.

Kris isn't sure how much he should tell Adam about himself, but at this point, he figures it doesn't matter anymore.

"I'm — sort of a singer," he admits, not looking at Adam.

"Oh," Adam says, and he sounds delighted. "Are you good?"

"Not as good as you," Kris mumbles, and immediately wants to kick himself for it. Adam just laughs, though.

"No, I like the sound of your voice, actually," he says. "I bet you sound good singing, too. _And_ you haven't even heard me sing, so."

"Well, you're in a musical," he says, awkward.

"Yeah," Adam says. "But — I kind of want something more, you know? Maybe to be a solo artist. But this is good, for now." Kris smiles, and thinks about what to say to that without sounding odd, but before he gets the chance, Adam continues. "How did you end up on a spaceship, though? Oh, do you perform in, like, different galaxies? On other planets?" Adam sounds excited about the prospect, and Kris can't help but laugh at the thought.

"No," he says. "Actually I just found out about aliens today. Well, sort of today." Adam nods, encouraging him to go on, and shifts closer on the couch. Kris fights the urge to lean in to him, and tries to explain as briefly as he can. "I found the ship by accident, and the Doctor just decided to give me a lift, I guess." There, that's totally brief enough.

"Why did you go with him?" Adam asks, surprising Kris with the question.

"Why wouldn't I?" he counters.

"You ran away on a spaceship, Kris," Adam says, his voice low and serious. "Is — Is there no one waiting for you back home?"

"No," Kris says, and then hurries to correct himself. "I mean, no, I didn't run away, I'm — I'm going back after this. It was just a —"

"A field trip?"

"Sort of," Kris admits. "Actually, it sort of just happened."

It sounds pretty ridiculous put like that, and Kris can't blame Adam for laughing. "Okay, okay," he amends, under Kris's not-so-withering glare. "So you just sort of flew away with a spaceship, could happen to anyone. Totally."

"Exactly," Kris says, and then they're both laughing, and Kris feels — light. Even though he's here with an Adam who doesn't really know him, an Adam from the past, it's still _Adam_, and he still makes Kris feel comfortable enough to be himself, makes him feel _happy_.

"So, wait," Adam says, between giggles. "The Doctor, though, he's — He's so not human, is he?"

"Totally alien," Kris agrees. "I'm not sure what sort of alien, but he seems to be one of the good guys. Or at least someone you'd want on your side."

"Definitely that," Adam says. "And the girl?"

"Amy," Kris says.

"Yeah, her. What is she doing with him? She's human, right?"

Kris nods. "I'm not sure. I mean, about why she's with him, I didn't ask. I guess she just... wants to be? Is that a good enough reason?"

"Of course it is," Adam says, and Kris smiles, because yeah, that's always been Adam. "She's pretty," he adds.

"I guess," Kris says, realizing that he's not once thought about her like that. It seems like she's missing something, or someone, and then there's the Doctor, and he just — She's Amy.

"Not your type?" Adam asks, and Kris wonders why he's pushing this.

"No," he says, thinking about it. She looks nothing like Katy or the girls he's dated after her, but then again Kris has never really thought about having a type. "I mean — She's tall, she has red hair, freckles..." He trails off, because it feels like his brain was just re-wired.

"So, exactly your type?" Adam quips, smiling.

"Almost," Kris says slowly. He finds himself staring at Adam's bottom lip, at the freckle there. It's so familiar to him, and at the same time, completely new.

"I like your freckles more," he breathes, and presses his lips to Adam's.

It's shocking, and completely overwhelming, and Kris isn't even sure if it's _happening_, because. Adam; it's Adam, and he's _kissing_ him. His head is spinning and then Adam's tongue is in his mouth, teasing, and when Adam bites down on Kris's bottom lip —

"Wait," Kris gasps, and jerks back. "We can't — Adam, I can't — You're —"

"Hey," Adam says, and smiles, but Kris can see that his eyes are sad, and no, that is so not what Kris had meant — "I get it, I can be a bit too much."

"No," Kris says, puts a hand on Adam's cheek, catches his eyes. "That's not it, okay, you're amazing, Adam. It's just —"

He pauses and swallows, because he doesn't even want to think how badly this will screw everything up, god, why didn't he ask to leave the minute he saw Adam.

Adam's looking at him, still a bit hesitant, and a little confused, but at least he doesn't look sad anymore.

"What?" he asks.

"It will mess everything up," Kris says, and squeezes his eyes shut to try to block out all the damage he's probably done to one of the most important relationships in his life. "I've screwed it all up."

"Hey," Adam says, and Kris opens his eyes, because he wants Adam to tell him it's all okay and he hasn't ruined everything, and even though this Adam can't know that, because he has no clue what Kris is talking about anyway, Kris is totally willing to believe him.

"It's only a kiss, right?" says Adam, and Kris's heart jumps up to his throat. "It doesn't have to mean anything. It's okay."

There's a small smile on Adam's face, and Kris wants to scream, because he can't make Adam understand this, and he also wants to kiss Adam again, which is a different problem entirely and one to think about later. He ends up throwing himself at Adam and pulling him into a hug, because at least this still feels right, this _always_ feels right.

It takes a moment, but then Adam's hands are resting on his back and he's gently squeezing Kris back. Kris burrows his head into the crook of Adam's neck, just for a second, before he forces himself to pull away.

"So," Adam says, really smiling this time. "You're all right?"

Kris breathes out a laugh, feeling tired. "Yeah. Are _you_ all right? Aliens, man."

"Yeah," Adam says, and chuckles. "I don't know, it wasn't actually _that_ weird, you know? Maybe my idea of weird is — wrong, I'm not sure."

"It's not," Kris says instantly.

Adam smiles at him, and continues. "The weirdest part was the fact that they wanted _me_, you know. Like. Why me? Silly aliens." He cracks up at that, and Kris can't help but smile back.

"You're sure you're fine?" he asks again, just to be certain.

"Yeah," Adam says. "And you're done freaking out?"

Kris nods, smiling tightly, and is actually thankful that this Adam doesn't really know him, because he doesn't push, even if he might understand that Kris is lying. Kris is nowhere near done freaking out, but he's just decided to concentrate on other things right now. Like breathing. Blinking. Adam. All good things to be concentrating on.

"I should really be going now," Adam says, and stands up, offers Kris a hand to help him up as well. "The theatre's probably closed already, and I have to get up early tomorrow."

"Oh," Kris says, torn between wanting Adam to leave, so he wouldn't get the chance to screw this up more, and wanting him to stay just a little while longer, because it's probably already unfixable, and Kris just doesn't want Adam to _go_. It's pointless to keep him here, though, especially now that the aliens are gone and he's safe. Kris himself should probably be getting home, too. He wonders what he'll be going back to.

"Well, thanks," Adam says, and leans down to hug Kris. Kris wraps his arms around Adam's waist, and has to remind himself that he mustn't hold on forever, even though it feels like he could. When he pulls back and looks up, Adam is smiling at him, and Kris almost kisses him again, because, what the heck, he might as well make the most of this, but he stops himself at the last moment.

"Good luck," Kris says, and when Adam throws him a confused look, explains. "With, you know, making it big and everything."

Adam smiles at him again, happy, and Kris, feeling a bit more bold, adds, "Even though I don't think you need luck. You'll be great, Adam."

"You say that to all the guys, don't you," Adam says, and Kris just laughs. Adam turns to go, and Kris stands still, just watching him walk away. Adam looks back from the door and smiles, and then he's gone.

Kris sighs and rubs his hands over his face, taking a moment to breathe. Then he turns the other way and hurries back to where they left the TARDIS.

When he opens the doors, he comes face to face with Amy.

"Kris," she says, clearly relieved. "Where's Adam?"

"He left," Kris says, and Amy groans. She pulls Kris in and shuts the door, pushes him toward the middle of the room, where the Doctor's waiting for him.

"Did he say where he was going?" he asks.

"Uh, home," Kris says, looking both at Amy and the Doctor, taking in their worried faces. "But —"

"Okay, I think we can track him," the Doctor says, pushing a few buttons on the console and taking hold of the screen, searching for something.

"But why?" Kris asks. "What's wrong?"

"They're not gonna give up — Amy, that lever there, yeah. They're going to take him."

"Take him," Kris repeats, and no, that can't mean — No, Adam is _not_ gonna be, what, _abducted_ by aliens, no.

The TARDIS tilts to one side and Kris grabs hold of the console, trying to stay upright.

"But they _can't_," he says, desperate.

"Of course they _can_," the Doctor says. "They're a highly evolved species; they can do a lot of things."

"But they won't," Amy adds, "because we'll stop them, right, Doctor?"

"Right," the Doctor says, and the TARDIS comes to a stop. The screen shows that they've landed in a bedroom; Adam's, hopefully. On the screen, Kris sees that the Doctor has already left the TARDIS to look around the room, and Kris turns to follow Amy outside.

Adam, however, is not there. "He probably hasn't gotten here yet," Kris says, as much to calm the others as himself. The Doctor's storming about the room, even looking under the bed. Kris tells himself that there's no need to panic just yet, and tries to control his breathing.

And then two things happen at once. There's a sound of a key turning a lock, and two aliens appear out of nowhere. They're just outside the bedroom, closer to the front door than Kris, the Doctor or Amy, and Kris doesn't have enough time to react to shout out a warning, _anything_. Adam opens the door, and is instantly surrounded by the two aliens. Kris starts to move forward, and the Doctor lifts his sonic screwdriver, but it's too late. Kris notices Adam's eyes widening in surprise, and then he and the aliens disappear in a beam of light.

"No, _no_," the Doctor screams, and heads right back to the TARDIS. Kris feels completely numb.

"Kris, come on," says Amy, tugging at his hand. He follows her blindly into the TARDIS, stands near the doors as Amy joins the Doctor at the console. The TARDIS is moving again, but all Kris can think about is Adam's face when he was taken; surprised, bordering on scared. He should have been _safe_ at his own place. Kris feels sick, remembering that he was ready to leave, and no one would have known what happened to Adam. The thought that they _didn't_ leave is what brings him back to the present.

Well, that, and the Doctor's voice.

"_Come on_, Kris," he says as he brushes past him on his way out. Amy grabs Kris's hand again and pulls him along, outside.

They end up right in the middle of a spaceship. A _huge_ spaceship, not like the TARDIS, but one with tons of aliens and equipment everywhere. There are a _lot_ of aliens.

Adam's strapped to something in the middle of the room. He's struggling against his restraints, and he lets out a gasp when he sees them.

"Please," he says, desperate. "Please, help me."

"Adam," Kris says, and starts forward, but the Doctor's hand shoots out, stopping him.

"Just, let me handle this," he whispers, and steps closer to the center of the room. An alien who's dressed a bit differently from the others steps forward to meet him.

"I am Akira of Avalon," she says, her voice clear and beautiful. "You have come here without being invited."

"And you have taken someone who doesn't belong to you," the Doctor says in response.

"Doesn't he?" Akira asks, and tilts her head towards Adam.

"Now do we really have to go over this again?" the Doctor asks. "He is _clearly_ not one of your people."

"Oh, we know that," Akira says and looks over to the side of the room where August and Alex are standing near the wall, smirking.

"Then why did you take him?" the Doctor asks.

"He is successful," Akira says, like that explains everything. "He's a famous performer."

"What? I am _not_," Adam says, pulling at his restraints.

"And I'm sure you know about how we _love_ people who are successful. I mean, the boy is known on countless other planets, really."

"_What?_," Adam asks, and Kris tries to inch closer to him without anyone noticing.

"I knew he looked familiar," the Doctor says, triumphant. "Didn't I tell you he looked familiar?"

"Doctor, now's really not the time," Amy says.

"Famous enough to be known across the universe," says the Doctor, sounding impressed. "D'you know, I always dreamed of becoming a rock star myself."

"I am _not_ famous," Adam says, pleadingly. "You're wrong, and you're —"

Alex pulls a lever and it's like an electric current shoots through the metal frame Adam's strapped to, making him cry out.

"No," Kris screams, and wants to rush to Adam, but Amy grabs his hand.

"Okay," the Doctor says, and lifts his sonic screwdriver. "Is that really how you treat a universal superstar? Because you know that if I fail to see the logic in that, it can only mean there _is_ no logic in that. Now tell me, what do you really want him for."

"Kris," Adam pants out, as he's still trying to gather his breath. "What is he talking about? I am not — I work as an _understudy_, what is this."

"I —" Kris says, and swallows. "I don't know, but. It'll be okay, we'll get you out of here."

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep," Akira says, and steps right in front of the Doctor. "We're taking him for our own amusement. Is _that_ a good enough reason for you?"

"Wait, are you _jealous_ of him?" Amy asks, surprised. "Oh, you're totally jealous."

Akira merely raises her eyebrows. "Lower your weapon," she tells the Doctor. "Or we'll just be _forced_ to hurt him again."

The Doctor frowns, not lowering the screwdriver. "What, this old thing? It's not a weapon. It _could_, however, blow up your entire ship. If you don't let him go."

"You're bluffing," Akira says. "The explosion would kill you, too."

"No," the Doctor says, "See, we're protected by _my_ ship, so really, we have nothing to lose."

For the first time since they got here, Akira looks confused. "But _he_ will die, as well. Don't play games with me, _Doctor_." She lifts her hand, and Alex pulls the lever again. Adam screams, and Kris struggles against Amy's hold.

"Now, stop that," the Doctor says. "We take him, we don't blow up your ship, and everyone is happy. Yes, very happy, _indeed_."

Kris physically _can't_ look away from Adam, the way he's shaking in pain and shock, but from the corner of his eye he sees a group of aliens starting to spread out quietly. He hopes no one sneaks behind him because he feels like he can't _move_ right now, and it would really suck for the aliens to ambush them.

"Leave," Akira says, and takes a step back from the Doctor, spreads her arms in an all-encompassing gesture. "You have no chance of beating us."

"Well," the Doctor says, and then someone shoots Akira.

Amy screams and pulls Kris to the floor. In an instant, the tension in the room has disappeared, replaced by sheer madness.

"No, no, _no_," the Doctor says and rushes to Akira's side.

"Doctor, be careful," Amy shouts, but Kris isn't paying attention to what's happening anymore because someone's released Adam's restraints and he's laying on the floor in a heap, right in front of the frame he was strapped to. Kris abandons all sense of self-preservation and quickly crawls across the room to Adam. He's curled in on himself, shaking, like he's still in pain.

"Adam," Kris says, and places a hand on his forehead. "_Adam_, it's okay. It's going to be okay."

"It still hurts," Adam chokes out, and Kris grabs his hand. "It fucking hurts, Kris."

"It'll get better," Kris promises. "The pain will go away, okay? You're safe now." He quickly glances about the room, sees the Doctor and Amy standing by Akira — _her body_, Kris thinks — with another alien next to them. It looks like some aliens have been taken hostage by the others, and Kris really hopes the ones in charge now are a bit more reasonable on the whole "kidnapping people" thing.

"Kris," Adam says quietly, and Kris turns back to him, strokes his hair away from his eyes.

"Don't worry," he says. "I'm here. I'll always be here, Adam. You'll be fine." He presses a quick kiss to Adam's cheek, and Adam's eyes slip shut.

"Adam," Kris says, worried, shaking his shoulder. "Come on, Adam, don't —"

Someone grabs him by the shoulder. "Excuse us, sir," they say. "But we need to —"

"No," Kris screams and tightens his hold on Adam. "Don't touch him." He won't let them take Adam; they _won't_ take him.

"Kris," someone is saying. "Kris." Amy. "Kris, they're going to help him. Let them help." Amy tugs at his arm. "Come on, Kris."

Reluctantly, Kris lets Adam's hand slip away, and Amy pulls him up. Three aliens crowd Adam and quickly carry him off. Kris stares after them; doesn't want to let Adam out of his sight. Amy squeezes his hand.

"Come on," she says again. "Let's go wait with the Doctor."

The Doctor is standing near the TARDIS with a younger-looking alien, arguing.

"How long have you been doing this?" the Doctor asks, agitated.

"It is tradition, by now," the girl explains.

Kris leans against the TARDIS and lets the conversation flow over him.

"You can't just _kidnap_ people."

"We don't plan on it. We only... borrow them."

Then the alien goes on some long tangent about their culture and why they decided to mutiny, and it's all just so _unimportant_ to Kris, he'd almost feel ashamed, but. Adam's his main concern, and he really doesn't care why some aliens decided to overthrow their leader, as long as they get Adam out of here in one piece.

"Did you send a distress signal?" the Doctor interrupts, suddenly.

"No," the girl says, primly. "We can handle this ourselves."

Amy snorts, and she and the Doctor exchange an amused look. "Yeah, that aside, the TARDIS was thrown off course by something. Are you sure no one called for help?"

"We're sure," the girl says. "You weren't called here. Maybe your ship was confused."

"Hey," the Doctor exclaims, "she's never confused." Amy clears her throat. "Well, she's hardly ever — Look, this wasn't like that."

"All I know is that no one called for your help, and we'd rather prefer it if you left as soon as possible." She throws a look at Kris. "I'll tell them to hurry up," she says, and then she's gone.

"Wait, no," Kris says, and turns to the Doctor. "Should they hurry it up? They shouldn't, right, should they?"

"Kris," Amy says, and steps closer to him again. "It's okay, he'll be fine. We'll make sure of it."

Kris thinks about arguing, because how can she be so _sure_, but then she grabs his hand again, and he allows himself to believe. The Doctor still seems deep in thought.

"Doctor?" Amy asks. "Adam will be fine, right?"

"Oh," Doctor says, as if realizing something.

"Doctor," Amy insists.

"What?" he says, and finally looks at them. "Yeah, he'll be fine. I figured it out." He grins, like he's found the key to the Universe or something. Come to think of it, maybe he _has_ a key to the Universe. Kris wonders what it looks like. Maybe the TARDIS is it, actually. It'd make sense. He wonders how long the TARDIS has been around, wonders if there's only one of them, or if there are more. What does it — _she_ — use for power, anyway? Traveling in space and time must take an endless amount of energy, and — He looks up when he hears someone say his name.

Amy and the Doctor are both looking at him expectantly. "What?" he asks.

"I said I _think_ the TARDIS brought us here because of you," the Doctor says.

"What?" Kris says again, because how does that make any sense.

The Doctor shrugs. "She sometimes does that. She's very smart, you know. She can see into you."

"Really?" Amy asks, sounding curious. "You never told me that."

"It's a rare occurrence," the Doctor says, waving his hand.

Before Amy can ask anything else or Kris can even try to wrap his mind around this, they're interrupted by two aliens stopping right in front of them.

"We're done," the taller one says.

It sounds ominous, and Kris rushes to ask, "How is he?"

"He's fine," the other one says. Their voices are clear and deep, and they have longer hair than most of the aliens. They come across as — reassuring.

Then the first one says, "We erased his memories," and Kris's heart pretty much stops.

"What?" the Doctor and Amy exclaim at the same time.

"He will not remember the past 24 Earth-hours," alien #1 explains, and Kris inhales sharply. Well, at least this isn't as bad as it could be. Actually, it might not be bad at all. Adam won't remember Kris. So nothing has to change, and Kris didn't screw everything up.

"We have teleported him back onto your ship, since he was still unconscious," the other one says.

"Now listen, you can't just do that," the Doctor starts.

"Doctor, come on," Amy says and grabs his arm. "Kris, coming?"

Kris wills his legs to move and quickly follows Amy and the Doctor to the TARDIS. He vaguely hears the Doctor complaining.

"They can't just do this, Amy, _and_, they'll do it again —"

"You already tried to reason with them," Amy says. "Some of it might have sunk through; now, come on, we have other things to worry about."

Kris gets the impression that the Doctor would like nothing better than to go back and have a lengthy discussion about why he's right and the other aliens are wrong, but thankfully Amy seems to have really taken to Adam. Kris doubts that there are many people who could capture the interests of people who travel in _time_, but, obviously, no one can resist Adam.

The first thing Kris sees when he walks into the TARDIS is Adam, lying on the ground next to the console. He rushes past the Doctor and Amy and runs straight to Adam's side, kneeling down next to him. Adam's lying absolutely still, and Kris is ready to panic, before he notices that he's breathing, slowly but surely.

Then the Doctor is next to Kris, pointing his sonic screwdriver at Adam, tapping it and checking something.

"Yep, missing the last 24 hours," he says, examining it.

"So he'll never remember what happened?" Kris asks, and covers Adam's hand with his own. "It'll just be lost to him?"

The Doctor stands up and moves to the console as Amy sits down on the floor, a little apart from Kris and Adam. Kris squeezes Adam's hand, looks up at Amy. She seems calm and Kris thinks that at least Adam's _okay_.

"I'm not _that_ familiar with their technology," the Doctor says, like he hates to admit it. "But he might remember someday, might have dreams about it. The human mind is a complicated thing."

"But how can you be sure that he doesn't have brain damage now, or something," Kris says, frustrated, looking at Adam's immobile body.

"I can't," the Doctor says, and Kris blanches.

"Doctor," Amy says, indignant.

"Not now, Amy," the Doctor says. "Ugh, I can't just leave like this. You two, wait in the TARDIS."

Kris hears the Doctor stride out and looks up in time to see Amy pout, stand up and run after him.

He has no idea what the Doctor's up to and 99% of him doesn't care at all. Adam's unconscious on the floor of a spaceship and it's all Kris's fault. Sure, the aliens might have come anyway, but Kris can't help but feel responsible for this; dammit, he should have looked after him. He should have convinced the Doctor right away to deal with the aliens, he shouldn't have let Adam get involved any more than he was. And now they've gone and manipulated Adam's _memory_. And he won't remember that this even happened, which is good, but he won't remember Kris, and even though that _should_ be good, the thought is killing Kris.

On top of it all, Adam just might be brain-damaged as a result and he looks so young just lying there, so vulnerable, and Kris is having difficulty breathing.

He leans down and presses a kiss to Adam's forehead, lingering and soft, just listens to Adam breathe.

"Well, that takes care of that," the Doctor says and Kris jumps slightly when he realizes the Doctor and Amy are back in the TARDIS. "And I told you to wait here."

"And you know I never listen," Amy sing-songs.

"So," Kris says, and forces himself to stand up. "We're going to take Adam home now, right? And make sure he doesn't have brain-damage?"

"Huh?" the Doctor says and tears his eyes away from the screen attached to the console. "Right, of course. Setting course to — Um, back where we came from."

He pulls a few levers, and then the TARDIS wobbles to a stop.

"Ah, here we are." The screen is showing Adam's bedroom, thankfully empty.

"How will we get him out?" Amy asks, just as the Doctor strides forward and grabs Adam's ankles.

"Amy, will you get the door," he says, and Kris hurries to put his arms under Adam's shoulders and lift.

They carefully maneuver him out of the TARDIS, and lay him on the bed. He looks so _young_ and fragile, Kris moves closer before he can stop himself. He sits on the bed, raises his hand to card his fingers through Adam's hair.

"You'll make sure he's not, like — That he's okay, right?" he asks them, not taking his eyes off Adam.

"Aren't you going to —" Amy starts.

"I'll go back to the TARDIS when he wakes up," Kris says, determined, or at least trying to sound it, convince himself of it. "So if he really doesn't remember, then it'll be like nothing ever happened. He won't know me, and nothing will — Nothing will have to change."

"Oh," Amy says. "Oh, _Kris_."

Adam stirs then, and Kris quickly presses a kiss to his forehead, before getting off the bed and heading for the TARDIS. He thinks about just pulling the doors shut behind him and not listening, but he has to hear Adam's voice, he _has to_. He needs to make sure Adam's okay for himself, so he settles to wait near the doors, out of sight.

"Hello," he hears the Doctor say, cheerily. "D'you remember us?"

"Am I supposed to?" comes Adam's voice, bleary.

"No, oh, not at all," the Doctor says.

"It was a dream," Amy adds, happily. "All of it, totally a dream." Kris feels like banging his head against the wall. Instead he peeks out from the TARDIS, knowing he's not in Adam's line of sight.

"Oh, god, what the fuck did I drink?" Adam says. He's sitting up now, cradling his head in his hands. Kris fights down the urge to run to him and make sure everything's okay, and get him aspirin and tuck him in after he falls asleep.

"Oh, yes," the Doctor says. "Loads of drinks. Lots of, um, alcohol. A lot of it, right, um, A— fellow dream person?"

Amy nods solemnly, and makes flying motions with her hands. "You are completely pissed," she says, and twirls around the Doctor. "Awesome dream, right?"

Adam just stares at them, like he's not sure who exactly in this scenario has lost their minds. He seems to believe what they're telling him, though, and he flops back down on the bed. His gaze moves over the room and Kris pulls away from the doors just before Adam's eyes land on the TARDIS.

"So drunk," Kris hears him say.

"Totally," the Doctor says. "But you still know who the president is, and stuff, right? Or, oh, better yet, what _year_ is it?"

"What?" Adam asks, already half-asleep. "It's 2005, why do you care, you're not even real."

"Yeah," Amy says, heartily. "We're really not."

"_Okay_," the Doctor says, "Well, enjoy your — Um."

Kris peeks out again, and sees that Adam's fallen asleep. He's pulled the covers over himself, so at least Kris doesn't have to go out and do that for him. Amy awkwardly pats his head and then she and the Doctor exchange looks and turn back towards the TARDIS. Kris draws a deep breath, and tries to stop his heart from beating out of his chest.

***

"So, Kris, another trip? How about that Beatles concert, or dinosaurs, or —"

Kris is sitting on the stairs of the TARDIS, only vaguely listening to the Doctor talking as he moves around the console. He only registers the Doctor stopping abruptly, and then Amy is sitting down next to Kris.

"He's gonna be fine, you know," she says.

"You trust what those... guys said?"

"No, but I trust the Doctor," she says. "Well, most of the time."

He throws her an incredulous look; she just laughs and nudges his shoulder.

"So, you're going home?"

Kris looks down at himself, at the jeans his Adam once picked out, at the sneakers past-Adam said he liked, at the necklace he's wearing, that he got because he made it to the Top 10, the the one that always reminds him of Adam, and nods.

Amy laughs happily and stands up. "Come on, Doctor, let's get Kris back home."

"What, no Beatles?" the Doctor asks.

Kris smiles and gets up, too. "Well, I actually have already met Paul McCartney."

The Doctor scoffs. "Who cares about Paul? Why does no one ever want to meet Ringo?" He pulls a lever and the TARDIS lands with the engines softly humming.

"You know, I think I'm gonna miss hearing this sound," Kris says, surprised.

"Aw," Amy says, and pats him on the shoulder. "We're gonna miss you, too."

"So," Kris says. "We're back home?"

"Back in London, yes," the Doctor assures him.

"And it's the same day? The day we left?"

The Doctor checks the screen of the TARDIS. "Yup."

"Are you certain?" Kris asks, a bit suspicious.

"Why don't you go check for yourself," Amy suggests.

Kris hesitates near the doors, then steps out. "Don't go anywhere," he yells back at them, and hurries off to find the closest newspaper stand. He figures he could just ask someone, but he wants to make sure of this himself. Once he's found a newspaper and seen that it really is July 9th, 2013, he runs back to the TARDIS. It feels easier to breathe when he sees it's still there.

"It's the same day," he announces as he walks through the doors. Amy and the Doctor are near the console; they look surprised to see him.

"We thought you'd run off and forgotten about us," Amy says, breezily.

"Really?" Kris asks, confused.

"Nah," the Doctor says, smiling. "But we _did_ think you were off looking for your friend, and too busy to come back."

"My — Oh. I. Well, I had to say goodbye, so," Kris hedges.

Amy bounces down the steps and pulls him into a hug. Her hair tickles his nose and he finds himself smiling. "Take care of yourself, Kris," she says, mock-seriously, when she pulls back to grip his shoulder.

Kris laughs, says, "You too." He really hopes she finds whatever she's missing.

She steps away from him, and Kris turns to the Doctor.

"_Kris_," the Doctor exclaims, and envelops him in a hug, long limbs and all. It should be awkward, but instead it just feels — nice. The Doctor pulls back after a moment and says, "Go get him."

Kris is torn between rolling his eyes and hugging them again, so he does neither and merely smiles. Takes a step backward, towards real life. Well, normal life. Well, what constitutes normal life.

He takes one last look at them, wondering if — _hoping_ — he'll see them again some day, and walks out of the TARDIS and into rainy London.

***

He calls Lizzie first thing in the morning, just to check on his schedule, completely prepared to to beg his way out of anything they might have planned. Luckily he has the day off, so he decides to spend most of it in bed, sleeping off time-travel jet lag, or something. After an hour of just lying in his bed, he can't take it anymore, though. He gets up and heads straight for his guitar, grabs a pen and his notebook as well.

There's a melody in his head and he starts strumming it as soon as he's sitting down in his favourite chair, the one by the window in the living room. The words just won't come, though, at least no words that resemble a song. The rain is softly tapping against the window and Kris leans back in the chair, trying hopelessly to gather his thoughts.

Finally he gives up on finding lyrics, and starts jotting down random thoughts that are flying through his head.

_the blue box was real_, he writes, over and over again, until he's completely sure he believes it.

_I met Adam in 2005_, is the next one, and Kris's hand twitches a little as he writes it down.

After that, the floodgates open, and the page gets filled with desperate scribbling.

_he's hurt; he's fine; he got hurt; it's my fault; he's okay now; ALIENS; all my fault; he's SAFE; he forgot; they MADE him forget; I kissed him_

He stares at the last one for a while, then throws the pen across the room, because he knows what's coming next, and he doesn't know if he can even handle writing it down. Which is completely ridiculous, since it's not like this is totally new to him. Except where it mostly is, and it's also a complete mess.

He reaches for his guitar again, holds it tight to his chest. Leaning over it and quietly strumming random chords, he says out loud, "I'm in love with Adam."

It takes him a moment to realize he's _smiling_, but when he does, it's like a weight's been lifted from him.

The next thing he does is call his mom.

"Oh, honey," his mom says, and Kris can't stand the love she hears in her voice. "I'm glad you're finally ready to tell me."

Kris thinks it's a bit unfair that she seemed to have known before he did.

The thing he can't bring himself to do is call Adam. He knows he should, he knows he can't just leave it like it is, he physically _can't_, but every time he thinks about talking to Adam he freezes up and he feels like his whole body is collapsing in on him. He has to admit it to himself — he's a _coward_.

***

A week later, Adam sends him a text.

It's late afternoon and Kris is walking back to the apartment he's renting when his phone buzzes.

_just had the craziest dream_, the text says.

Kris stops in his tracks and stares at the screen.

It could be nothing; it could be just a completely random dream that maybe had Kris in it, which is why Adam's texting him in the first place, but it could also be — No, Kris can't let his mind go there, if. If Adam remembered then he'd already have said something, or things would be different, and it's just too much a coincidence for him to remember _now_, because time is weird, but it's not — it can't be this weird. It's nothing.

He fidgets with the phone, then sends a text back.

_yeah, what was it about?_

He's not sure where Adam is at the moment, and the thought saddens him. He always used to know where Adam was, what city his tour was in that night, what was going on with his band and his friends. It still feels so weird, not knowing, not keeping an eye on him anymore.

There's no point in just standing there on the street corner, waiting for a response, though, so he makes himself start moving again. After a moment, he also forces himself to put the phone back in his pocket. He gets another text when he's back in his apartment.

_nothing in partciular. hey, i'm gonna be in london soon. we should catch up_

Kris squeezes his phone tighter, and doesn't know how to react. _Coward, coward, coward_, his brain taunts him, and it's true. Now that Adam has reached out to him, he's totally ready to get in contact again, to catch up, like Adam said. He's an utter coward, but. He can't just let go of an opportunity like this either, that would make him even worse. He quickly types out a response, an easy _yeah, man, just tell me when and where_, then heads for the keyboard in his living-room. There are already lyrics forming in his head.

***

Adam gets to London two weeks later. He doesn't call Kris until he's there, pretty much knocking at his door. Well, actually he's knocking on the door of Kris's studio, which is just a few blocks away from his apartment. Kris knows his eyes bug out when he looks over and sees Adam waiting for him, but he's always been bad at schooling his expression. He cuts the song short, takes off the headphones and is out the door before his brain catches up with him.

"Hi," Adam says, smiling, as he pulls Kris into a hug.

Kris pretty much melts against Adam, grateful that some things never change.

"This is unexpected," Kris says, when he pulls back.

"Well, you know me," Adam says, grinning.

Kris grins back, then remembers where they are, and drops his gaze. "Um, you want to go somewhere less public, or something? Catch up?"

Adam looks around at the empty hallways and raises his eyebrows.

"Okay," Kris amends, "You want to go somewhere more _comfortable_? I can — Um, I'm renting an apartment nearby."

"Oh," Adam says, surprised. "That's awesome; I'd love to see it."

"Yeah?" Kris asks, suddenly nervous. They're acting like always, like nothing's changed between them, and Kris wants to think that nothing _has_, but. He can't fool himself like this anymore. He knows he has to find out whether Adam remembers anything from that day back in 2005 or not. He just doesn't know what he wants the answer to be.

They walk back to Kris's apartment, making small talk — which is never really small talk when it comes to Adam — about their friends, family, music. Kris remembers about halfway there that he left his place a mess that morning. Then he wonders why he even cares and gets the urge to run headfirst into a wall when he realises exactly how nervous he is. He never used to be nervous around Adam, it's really throwing him off. If Adam notices the way Kris eyes all the walls they pass and estimates their possible resistance, he doesn't mention it.

Kris feels like he's in a daze, watching Adam walking around his apartment, sitting down at the kitchen table, smiling up at Kris, waiting for the tea Kris said he'd make. It's just so — so _right_, but Kris knows he has to say something, has to know.

Blurting out, "So, how about that dream?" mightn't be the best way to go about it, but at least it's out there now.

Adam just furrows his brow. "Dream?"

"Um, the one you texted me about," Kris says, and places two cups of tea in front of them, takes the seat opposite Adam's.

"Oh," Adam says slowly, suddenly a lot more serious. "That was — It was just a weird dream." He punctuates the statement with a shrug, but Kris _needs_ to know.

"What was it about?" Kris asks, takes a sip of his tea.

"It was, like, weeks ago, I don't even really remember," Adam says. His fingers twitch around his teacup.

Kris feels bad about pushing, but. "Tell me. I mean, you texted me about it, so. Was I in it?"

"You — Yeah, I guess you were," Adam says, looking down at the table and not at Kris. "And there, was, like. I don't know. There was this blue box, and aliens and shit, it was ridiculous."

Kris's breath catches. "Oh," he chokes out.

"Kris?" Adam asks, concerned.

"What else?" Kris asks, quickly. "What else do you remember?"

"I don't know," Adam says, nervous. "There was some guy, and a girl with red hair, and you were in it, too. And, like, _aliens_. It was pretty cool, actually, as far as dreams go."

"But — But you don't remember anything specific?"

"No, I — Why do you ask?" Adam sounds confused now, on edge. He never liked being confused. "It was just a dream."

Kris buries his face in his hands and doesn't say anything.

"Kris?" Adam prompts. "It was — It was just a dream."

He sounds unsure of it, suddenly. Wondering. Kris can't just not tell him, he _can't_. He raises his head and looks Adam straight in the eyes. "It was real," he says, quietly. "It wasn't a dream."

Adam's mouth drops, and his eyes are full and shocked. "No, but —" he starts.

"It really happened," Kris says, fast, eager to finally get the story out. "It was real, and there were _aliens_, and I was there. I don't know how much you remember, but, I mean. The aliens, they altered your memory, so you wouldn't remember it, but the Doctor said that you might, some day, and I guess that — I guess you do now."

Adam looks confused, and — lost. Like he was back there, back in 2005, so _young_, Kris can't even bear to look at him.

"You're telling me everything I dreamt _happened_," he says levelly.

"Well," Kris says. "Yeah?"

"So," Adam says, laughing nervously. "You, what. You — You said, in the dream, that the — That box traveled in space."

"Yeah," Kris says. "About that... It also traveled in time?"

"Oh," Adam says, incredulous. "Of course it did. It _traveled in time_.

"Adam —"

"Wait," Adam says, and Kris freezes. "So, you — When you were there, you weren't — What year were you from?"

"This one," Kris says, quietly.

"When?" Adam asks. "When did this happen? I mean." He pauses and pinches the bridge of his nose. "When did this happen for _you_?"

"A month ago, or so?" Kris says, unsure.

"What, and you didn't _tell me_?" Adam demands.

"I thought you didn't remember!"

"What?" Adam asks, suddenly angry. "What does that matter?"

"Then nothing had to change," Kris says, heatedly. The second it leaves his mouth, he knows it's the wrong thing to say.

Adam gapes at him. "You kissed me," he says, as if he's only now remembering.

"Adam —"

"Why?"

"Because I _wanted_ to," Kris says, desperate. He feels like he's just run a damn marathon, or something, his breath coming heavy, his head spinning. Adam looks like he's going to throw up.

"They messed with my memory," Adam says, hollow. "And they — And I. I forgot, and now. You —" He looks up, his eyes questioning, sad.

"Adam, _please_, just listen to me," Kris says, pleading.

"I have to — think," Adam says, and Kris's heart starts a frightening tumble downwards. "I need to, I can't process this right now."

Adam gets up from the table, and Kris raises his arm to reach for him, but stops himself. Adam's looking completely lost, and Kris's heart aches to touch him, but he knows he shouldn't. If Adam needs to take time to think about this, Kris will give him that time. This entire thing is his mess, anyway. Damn time travel.

Adam takes a couple of steps backward, and Kris wonders what if Adam will want _indefinite_ time to process this. Kris likes to think he's good at waiting, but this...

"I have to —" Adam starts.

"Adam —"

"Look," Adam says, and runs both hands over his face. "I'll be in London for a week, I'll — talk to you in a few days, okay?"

Kris breathes in and out. He can do that. A few days he can handle.

"Okay," he says. Adam looks him in the eye, uncertain, and Kris just wants to _hug_ him, but Adam walks away before Kris gets the chance to. Kris buries his head in his hands, because he doesn't want to know whether Adam looks back or not.

***

During the next few days, Kris spends most of his time in museums and parks. There's a mid-summer heatwave in London and the cool insides of an art gallery combined with the warmth of the parks is like heaven — or it would be it he could stop thinking, just for a second. He carries his notebook and pen with him everywhere he goes, scribbles down short lines; pleas more than lyrics; tears some of them out, throws them away, stuffs the others into his pockets.

Because Adam can't really go anywhere without being photographed, Kris knows almost exactly what he's been up to. Events, photoshoots, radio interviews. All in preparation for his third tour in Europe, this one bigger than ever.

Then, on the fourth day, when Kris is in Kensington Gardens, Adam sends him a text.

_see you 2m night at the gala_

Kris's heart starts beating wildly, when he realizes that he had completely forgotten about having to be at the event, and had also forgotten to check whether Adam was going to be there. (Something he's been doing ever since that one time years ago when he found out Adam was going to be at the same concert as Kris the minute he _saw_ Adam there. He forgot about everyone else, and threw himself at Adam in front of dozens of photographers. Adam had actually _screamed_ and then he'd laughed and Kris had been mortified.)

But Adam knew; he knew Kris was supposed to be there, and he wanted to see him.

In public. At a gala. Where he could quickly and quietly tell Kris that he couldn't handle their friendship anymore and that they should part ways. Of course, that was the only option, the perfect opportunity for Adam to do exactly that.

Kris knows, deep down inside, that Adam would never actually act like that, but — suddenly he doesn't see another way this could go. He feels like he's already given up, like he _is_ giving up on — on hope, and Adam, and he just can't think anymore.

He sits down on the closest bench and buries his head in his hands.

***

Before the event, Kris has managed to go through every possible scenario. At one point he even considered the fact that Adam might have forgotten to think about it like he'd promised, had forgotten about seeing Kris a few days ago and about the whole thing entirely. After all, his memory had been altered once, what if it was failing? Kris was close to hyperventilating because he was so worried, before he told himself he should stop speculating and just wait and see what Adam would say.

After all, Adam was the one who thought too much, not Kris. Right. He would just have to see where things took them and — not give up before anything had been decided.

***

The event is long and boring and Kris can't find Adam anywhere. He finally notices him about an hour into the night. Adam catches his eye from the other side of the room, and tilts his head toward the door.

Kris follows him out of the room and up the stairs. They slip into a private bedroom, and Adam closes the door behind them. Kris stands in the middle of the room, feeling awkward and nervous.

"Hey," he says, to break the silence and the tension.

"Hi," Adam says, and fidgets with his sleeves.

"So," Kris says.

"I thought about it," Adam says. "About that day, about how much I remembered from that day. About what you said. And I — Well, aside from the fact that when I met you, you had already met _me_ —"

"But that doesn't really," Kris starts. "It doesn't count. I mean, sure, it happened, but you didn't remember it until recently, so. It doesn't really change anything that's happened between us, right?"

"Kris," Adam says, and he sounds tired.

"Just tell me I didn't screw it all up by meeting you when I wasn't supposed to meet you," Kris pleads. "That it didn't screw up our friendship."

"Our friendship?" Adam asks. "We haven't talked in _months_, Kris."

"I know," Kris says, and looks down at his shoes. "I know. It's my fault. I miss you, all the time, though. I do."

"But you were the one who didn't call," Adam insists.

"I know —"

"I told myself every day that I'll just call myself, I will, but —"

"I had to do it," Kris says. "I _know_ that, Adam, I screwed up. Just. What happened that day, though, that doesn't. That has nothing to do with this, you know."

"You _kissed_ me," Adam says, like it's an accusation, and Kris flinches. "Because, what, you wanted to? What does that even —"

"I love you," Kris says, honest. "I — I think I'm in love with you. Have been for a long time, I just didn't realize —"

"Kris —"

"I get it if you don't feel the same," Kris says, feeling wretched. "I get it; it's — I just thought it'd be fair if you knew."

Adam just looks at him, and his eyes are so _sad_, Kris can't bear it. "Kris," he says.

"Can't we — I'm sorry. Just, tell me if you don't. If you don't want to try this, and we'll — I mean, we're still friends, right. Or we could be, again? But if we could be something _more_ —"

"We _can't_, Kris," Adam says, and Kris feels like his heart's breaking.

The door opens suddenly and Lane peeks through it.

"Adam?" she says. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but you need to go back downstairs."

"Can't it wait?" Adam asks.

"I'm sorry," she says, again.

"No, it's okay," Kris says, quietly. "It's fine, I'll go."

"Kris," Adam says, but Kris steels his shoulders and quickly walks out of the room, down the stairs, out of the house and onto the street. He came here alone anyway, nobody will mind if he leaves without saying goodbye.

He knows he shouldn't have just walked out like that, but he couldn't bear to be in that room anymore, with Adam looking so sad, knowing _he_'s the reason Adam looks like that. He'll call Adam tomorrow and apologize and hope for the best; that they can at least try not to lose touch again, maybe build up some sort of friendship, _something_. Tonight, though, he feels like writing a song.

He gets derailed from his thoughts by the sight of a familiar bar. He steps in, sits down and takes out his notebook and pen. After five minutes, he puts them away again, and lays his head on the table; feels like crying.

***

Kris contemplates ordering another drink, when someone takes the seat next to him. He turns his head and comes face to face with Adam.

"Oh," he says.

"Hi," Adam says and flags down the bartender.

"How did you find me?" Kris asks.

"Someone tweeted that they saw you on this street," Adam says. Kris finds it hilarious that now Adam is using Twitter to stalk _him_. He snorts into his empty glass.

Adam orders himself a scotch, then swivels on his chair to look at Kris.

"Why did you come after me?" Kris asks, not letting himself feel hopeful.

Adam shrugs. "You didn't let me finish. Or explain. Plus, I figured you wanted me to."

"Okay," Kris nods.

"Did you?"

"Did I want you to come after me?" Kris asks. "I — Yeah. I'm glad you did. I guess... I'm sorry I stormed out like that. I just couldn't deal with the way you were looking at me."

"How was I looking at you?" Adam asks, confused.

"Like you felt sorry for me," Kris admits, and looks down.

"I didn't — Kris, that's not what I thought, at all," Adam says. "I just didn't —"

"Believe me?" Kris asks. "I love you. I _am_ in love with you."

Adam sighs. "I — I believe that, but I still don't know if that's worth losing you."

Kris runs his hands over his face, exasperated. "That doesn't even make _sense_."

"Love doesn't last, Kris," Adam says, and he sounds so sad that Kris wants to wrap him in a hug and never let him go, because that is _not_ what Adam believes in. He doesn't even understand how he can say it.

"You don't mean that," he accuses him.

"No, I mean," Adam amends. "Yes, love lasts, and I still have love for all the people I've been with, but — It just gets harder, every time, and. Look, I already felt like I had lost you after those days in the beach house, and now we're talking again, and I don't want to go back to how things were before."

"Neither do I," Kris insists. "I — I thought I didn't want things to change, but I _do_."

"_Why_?" Adam asks, pleading.

"Because I want you, and I don't know how to _stop_."

Adam just shakes his head and takes a sip of his scotch.

Kris sighs, and suddenly he realizes something. "We — Wait. You're saying that you don't want anything to change between us?"

Adam nods, wary.

"So you're. You're actually thinking about this. You're thinking about _us_."

"Yes, Kris," Adam sighs. "That is what we're currently talking about."

"So you — You like me. Enough to consider it," Kris says, and feels a smile threatening to break out on his face.

"Yes," Adam says, confused. "I thought that was a given."

Kris huffs out a laugh. "Why would that be — I thought I was alone in this. I thought that you saw me as just a friend. At least... that's what I thought after what happened at the party.

"Oh," says Adam. "No, that. That wasn't what it was about. But, Kris, we can't —"

Kris is smiling now, he just can't stop it. "We _can_, Adam. I loved you in 2005, and I love you now, and I. I think it would work. I really think it would."

Adam rests his head on his hand, but his eyes aren't sad anymore, and Kris feels that it's easier to breathe now.

"You know why we ended up in 2005?" he asks. "Me and the Doctor and Amy?"

"No," Adam says. "You didn't say anything about it in the dream. I mean, in the — Then. In the past." He waves his arm around, like that will make the words easier to find.

"The TARDIS brought me there," Kris explains. "The Doctor said it could see into people. He thinks it saw where I wanted to go."

"To 2005?" Adam asks, confused. "What happened in 2005?"

"To _you_, idiot," Kris scoffs.

"_Oh_," Adam says, realizing. "Wait. You little shit, are you saying we're _destined_?"

"No," Kris says. "I'm saying that everyone can see how I feel about you. Even a _box_ that travels in time. Come on, Adam. I said I'll always be there, right? I meant it." He leans forward on his chair, looks Adam right in the eyes. "Adam. Time travel. I loved you then, and I love you now."

Adam closes the distance between them and captures Kris's mouth in a kiss.

"Oh," Kris says, surprised, but it gets lost against Adam's lips. Adam pulls back quickly, though, and looks around the bar.

"Right," he says. "We should probably —"

Kris cuts him off by pressing his lips to his, resting his hand on Adam's knee.

"Kris, wait," Adam gasps out, puts his hand on Kris's chest.

"I really think I'm done with waiting," Kris says, and tries to get closer.

"What, you think _you_'ve waited for a long time, do you?" Adam asks, but there's a smile on his face. "I've been waiting since 2005."

Kris chuckles, trails his fingers over Adam's knee. "Wait, that's a —"

"A joke, yes," Adam says, amused. "It hasn't been quite _that_ long, I assure you. But — Maybe since the beach house. Maybe before. Around that time." His eyes soften, and he raises his fingers to touch Kris's cheek.

There's a clang as the bartender puts down a bottle.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," he says. "But I think you're close to being spotted."

Adam glances around the bar, a lot more full now than it was before. "Is there a back door here that we could use?" he asks.

***

Out on the street, they walk close enough to occasionally brush their hands together.

"So, you're sure you don't need to go back to the party?" Kris asks again.

"Yes, Lane will take care of it," Adam says. "And I sneaked out pretty well, so as long as we don't run into any paps..."

"What do you have planned for tomorrow?"

"Radio interviews. I need to be up at six, I think. The first one is at half past seven." Adam sighs softly. "I wish I could sleep for a week, but."

"Well, at least they're only radio ones?" Kris says, and leans into him for a moment. Sleep is still something to be cherished, for them.

"Something to be grateful for," Adam agrees. Kris nudges his shoulder. "Okay, something _else_ to be grateful for."

"Much better," Kris says, smiling.

***

The minute they step into Kris's apartment, Adam pushes him against a wall and kisses him until they're both having trouble breathing.

"I really never thought I'd get to do this," he says, and he seriously sounds like a kid on his birthday; it's quite endearing.

"Hope it doesn't disappoint," Kris teases, and bites down on Adam's lip.

Adam groans into his mouth, pleased.

It takes them ages before they actually find the bed and accidentally stumble onto it. Kris enjoys every minute of it, the feel of Adam close to him, his breath hot on Kris's neck, the warmth of his body.

If he could, he'd send the Doctor a fruit basket.

***

Kris is awakened by the morning sunlight seeping though his bedroom windows. He realizes he forgot to close the shades last night. When he remembers _why_ he forgot to do that, he smiles to himself and nuzzles into the pillow. He throws his hand out to touch Adam, but finds the bed empty.

Before he gets the chance to panic, he recalls that Adam had to leave early today, for radio interviews. Just then, he hears a soft clank from the kitchen.

"Adam?" he calls out.

"Just making coffee," comes the response.

"What time's it?"

"Almost seven," Adam says, walking into the bedroom. He hands Kris his cup of coffee and presses a quick kiss to his lips. "My driver's picking me up any minute now. Oh, shit, where did I put my phone..." He storms out the room again, and Kris smiles into his cup.

Suddenly, the apartment is filled with a weird noise that keeps getting louder.

"Kris?" Adam calls from the kitchen.

Kris jumps out of the bed and rushes to the living room. "It's the Doctor," he says, excited. Just then, the familiar blue box materializes right in the middle of his kitchen. Adam bumps into the counter and walks backward to Kris.

"I don't remember it being this big," he says to Kris, just as the doors of the TARDIS open.

Amy bounces out of it, a tall man with brown hair in tow. The Doctor trails out after them, smiling.

"Kris," Amy exclaims, and throws herself at him. Kris hugs her close and laughs into her hair.

"We just stopped by for a quick... check-up," the Doctor explains. "We really can't stay for long, but —"

Amy's eyes fall on Adam and she beams at him. "Hey, _you_." She pulls him into a hug as well. The Doctor grins and pats Kris on the shoulder.

"So, everything's in order?" he asks. "Good, _good_."

"Oh," Amy says, and lets go of Adam. She grabs the hand of the new guy, and tugs him forward. He smiles, a little nervous. "This is Rory. He's my..."

"Husband," Rory says, and Kris's eyes bug out.

"Kind of husband."

"_Amy_."

"I'm kidding!" She laughs and squeezes his hand. Kris finds himself suddenly beaming at them.

"That's — Wow," he says.

"Congratulations," Adam says happily.

"Yes," the Doctor says, and claps his hands together. "Well, this is lovely. But we _are_ late, actually. So sorry to just jump through like this, we'd love to stay for tea. Really." He peers towards the kitchen.

"I only made coffee," Adam says.

"Oh, well then, best be off," the Doctor says.

"It was _great_ to see you again, really," Amy tells them, and then they're running back into the TARDIS. The engines pick up, and it's almost gone before the engines stop and it looks solid again.

Amy peeks her head out, says, "You want to come along for a trip?"

"No," Kris says, looking at Adam. "I think we're good here."

Adam smiles at him, then turns to nod at Amy. "Maybe one day?" he asks. "But — Yeah. I'm _totally_ good here."

"Well, just checking," Amy says, smiling, and closes the door. The next second, the TARDIS is gone.

They stand there for a moment, beaming at each other.

"Oh," Adam says, suddenly. "I have to run."

He grabs his jacket from the end of the couch, shrugs it on.

"Wait, is this what you're wearing to the interviews?" Kris asks.

"Lane's bringing something I can change into," Adam says, and runs to grab his phone from the kitchen.

"Hey," Kris says, and stops him before he steps outside. "Lunch today? Or dinner? How much time do you have? Here, I mean."

"Well," Adam says, and looks thoughtful. "The tour starts from _here_, but I was gonna head back to LA for a little while after the promo 'cause I didn't want to stay at a hotel, and I miss my house, but —"

"Stay here," Kris says immediately, and smiles. "You'll be on the road soon anyway, right? You can — You can stay here until then?"

"I can move the rehearsals here," Adam says, contemplating.

"Great," Kris says, and gives him a quick kiss. "So, it's decided. Lunch?"

"I have to ask... my people, I guess," Adam says, and Kris knows he means about staying in London, but he decides to play dumb.

"About having _lunch_? With a dear old friend?"

"I have to call my _mom_," Adam says, suddenly.

Kris laughs. "Lunch, though?" He's not letting this go, definitely not.

"Hmm," Adam says. "Isn't this going a bit — fast?" His eyes are teasing, but Kris knows there's a serious question behind it.

"Lunch today," he says. "I mean, lunch is easy, right? Dinner... in a few weeks? Taking it slow, and all. I mean, if you want to —"

"I love you," Adam blurts out.

"Well, that's not exactly taking it slow," Kris says, but Adam looks excited and nervous, and Kris pulls him into a kiss.

"Love you, too," he whispers. "Even though you're _always_ late."

"Shit," Adam says, and pulls back. "What time is it? And, just for the record, it's not like you're the fastest guy in the world or anything."

"Hey," Kris says, indignant.

"I'm sorry, but you had to go back in _time_ to figure out how you felt about me. I'm not even sure what that says about you."

"That I'm awesome 'cause I've traveled in time?" Kris asks.

"I don't know, does that single fact alone make you awesome?" Adam teases.

"You're _late_," Kris reminds him.

"Seriously, I expect a demonstration of awesomeness."

Kris grins, because, god, he has missed this, and he didn't think he could have it, have _Adam_.

"Yeah, well. You're still late."

"No, really, tonight, demonstration." Adam kisses him on the nose, and it's totally disarming.

"Lunch in the afternoon first," Kris tells him, when his brain's working again.

"Ah, when?" Adam asks, and looks at his phone. "Oh, god, I am _so_ late."

"Go," Kris says, and pushes him towards the door. "I'll call you."

"Call or text?" Adam asks.

"Call,"Kris says. "I'm sick of texts. I like hearing your voice again."

Adam leans forward and presses his lips to Kris's. He smiles when he pulls back, then leans closer again for another kiss, but Kris knows he's _really_ going to be late if this goes any further, and Adam really doesn't like being late.

"Go," he whispers. "I'll see you soon." Adam steals another kiss, before he runs out the door.

Kris smiles to himself and starts making plans to surprise Adam somehow after his last radio interview. They have all the time in the world now, and Kris knows better than to waste one second of it.


End file.
